May. 29, 2018
By Rep. Steve Mentzer (R-Lititz)
In response to a letter from Republican members of the state House of Representatives, the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) last week issued an order requiring 17 major electric, natural gas and water and wastewater utilities to return $320 million per year to over-charged consumers.
The refunds are a direct result of the significant decrease in federal corporate tax rates and other tax changes under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act signed into law last year, which lowered the tax liability of many utility companies.
In March, House Republicans sent a letter to the PUC urging its commissioners to require utilities to pass on the decrease in energy costs to consumers because of the federal tax cut bill.
While I am encouraged by the PUC’s response and the fact that utilities will now be required to pass the President’s federal tax cuts on to consumers, this is only one win. I am hopeful that Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration will make more adjustments that are necessary for Pennsylvanians to garner maximum benefit from the new law.
For example, a March 2018 survey of business executives by Ernst & Young, looking at how companies plan on using their tax savings found that:
• 75 percent expect to expand manufacturing in the United States.
• 89 percent plan to increase worker compensation.
• 66 percent will likely pass on some of their tax savings to customers.
• 69 percent expect to bring back more earnings to the U.S. from overseas than they would have otherwise.
As we can see, the new tax law has already begun to stimulate economic growth and development in many other states. If we act now to update our tax code, we can maximize its positive effects to generate more good paying jobs in Pennsylvania.